PS elvis is shit- his impact was huge but his musical output is shit. Great songs terrible versions.
Your arse
[Edited by Gazza]
16th August 2007 02:38 PM
*ginda
One or two more disparaging remarks about Elvis and I'll shoot out this monitor with the old pearl handle I carry. He was and is still the King. Those who disagree can go pound sand, look for a job, or go shopping for a 12 step show.
16th August 2007 02:54 PM
Gazza
quote:guitarman53 wrote:
Elvis has influenced a lot of rock greats, including Dylan, Jagger admits the same thing, like John Lennon said "Before Elvis there was nobody" even though I loved Chuck Berry better, there was no way rock 'N' roll was going be heard by black artists, not to make it mainstream, on radio's, it had to take a good looking southern boy to make rock 'N' roll heard, because he was white, young people don't realize what the south was like back in the 50's, & even into the 60's, they don't have a clue & that's the truth.
This is the salient part that most of the "Chuck is the real king" crowd overlook (...as well as the conveniently overlooked fact that Chuck basically stopped making good records anyway after about 1959 apart from a couple of exceptions around 1964 or so.)
Its not just about personal preference as to who made better records, or who did or didnt write songs..rock n roll as a cultural phenomenon is about so much more than that. At the time no one gave a fuck who wrote their own songs anyway. It wasnt 'expected', so looking at it solely from a 21st century perspective is nonsensical.
I love Chuck's music and his influence is of course massive, but for me Jerry Lee Lewis made better records and did so for a longer period than he did.
[Edited by Gazza]
16th August 2007 02:57 PM
MidnightRambler
Elvis' impact and respect is lost amidst all the commericial, advertising, elvis-impresonators, hype and hysteria. It's hard for anybody to eliminate all that and look at the music and the idea behind it all.
Elvis is not labeled the King because of those crappy movies he made, or the fact that he played a lot of Vegas dates or that he loved burgers and gained 100 pounds when he died. The jungle that is the Elvis-World is so hard to sift through....but the music he made between '56 and '58 laid down the concrete to the road of rock and roll.
His voice dripped of originality, energy and fierceness. He translated the sounds of music into something we could see and feel. We'd see it as his hips moved or his arms waved like a windmill We'd feel it when he'd sing a song. A package deal that no one else offered.
People knock the title "King" off of Elvis because he never wrote a song, or played the guitar as prominently as others. Funny, for a guy who never wrote a lyric or played one guitar solo and STILL changed the world of music--pretty damn impressive.
To acknowledge Elvis' impact is one thing...but to understand and KNOW the impact is another. Why would every big icon from Lennon, McCartney, Mick, Keith, Dylan, Bruce Springsteen hand over all credit to Elvis for igniting their fires? Investigate. Wonder. How did this one guy inspire 6 legends?
To understand it all...you have to go deeper than listening to "Hound Dog." Unfortunately that and many other songs have become as played out as "Happy Birthday" or "Jingle Bells." Put yourself back in the 50's when there was absolutely nothing on the radio that sounded even close to this. A time when there was no rock and roll. It's easy now to dismiss Elvis because rock and roll is here and we've had it ever since.
It's true...before anyone did anything...Elvis did everything.
16th August 2007 02:59 PM
Gazza
quote:MidnightRambler wrote:
To acknowledge Elvis' impact is one thing...but to understand and KNOW the impact is another. Why would every big icon from Lennon, McCartney, Mick, Keith, Dylan, Bruce Springsteen hand over all credit to Elvis for igniting their fires? Investigate. Wonder. How did this one guy inspire 6 legends?
Add Led Zeppelin to that. A band who even at the height of their powers actually offered to be his backing band.
Great post, btw.
16th August 2007 03:07 PM
guitarman53
quote:Gazza wrote:
Add Led Zeppelin to that. A band who even at the height of their powers actually offered to be his backing band.
Great post, btw.
Did you know there was a band in the 90's called "Dread Zeppelin" at least in Toronto, where there was a fat Elvis guy, doing Led Zep/Elvis songs, he would do "Heartbreaker" & finish it as "Heartbreak Hotel" he would mix the 2 artists into 1 song, far out.
16th August 2007 03:13 PM
Gazza
Yep...the singer was called Tortelvis
Reggae versions of Led Zep songs sung in an Elvis voice. Their cover of "Immigrant Song" is incredible..LOL
16th August 2007 03:13 PM
Ten Thousand Motels
There! I'm glad that's settled.
16th August 2007 03:26 PM
mojoman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CFTFIcvz6o
17th August 2007 08:02 AM
Chuck
August 15, 2007
Critical Bias
Elvis Presley: King or Apprentice?
By CARLA BLANK
http://www.counterpunch.org/blank08152007.html
Peter Guralnick (in his 08/11/07 Op-Ed in The New York Times titled "How Did Elvis Get Turned Into a Racist?") is the latest critic to distance Elvis Presley from the blacks from whom he borrowed, claiming that Presley fused rock 'n' roll (black), with what is known as country western or "hillybilly" music (white). This achievement was credited by one NPR commentator with "changing American music forever."
One problem with this description, which seems to be the consensus among white critics, is that others had accomplished this fusion before Presley. And Mr. Guralnick's article, even though pointedly including Elvis Presley's acknowledgement of his black mentors, still presents a musical racial divide that historically did not occur. He, like many critics, omits the black contributions to country western music, an amalgam of African and Celtic musical traditions which evolved across the American South.
Country music is considered, along with southern folk hymns and the New England hymns, to be an indigenous American music form, one that provided the basis of what is called the "American" music tradition. Case in point, the easily documented development of the banjo, a signature instrument in the country music sound: In the 1740s it was introduced to colonists by enslaved West Africans, as a two or three stringed instrument made out of a gourd, called the banjer, which was played in a melodic downstroke "picking" style. Travelers' journals document the banjo had reached Wheeling on the Ohio River (in present day West Virginia) by 1806, twelve years ahead of the new National Road, and was heard in western Kentucky by the early 1820s, with its evolution into the five string banjo occurring by the late 1840s, when one of the earliest known white banjo players, Virginian Joel Walker Sweeney (1810-1860), was making the instrument popular while appearing in early minstrel shows.
In regard to the critics' claims that Elvis Presley set the precedent in fusing country western and rock 'n' roll, the bestselling hits of Fats Domino ("Goin' Home/Reeling and Rocking, 1952,"; "Goin' to the River/Mardigras in New Orleans, 1953"; "Thinking of you/I Know, 1954"; "Ain't That a Shame,1955" ;"Blueberry Hill, 1956") and Chuck Berry ("Maybellene/Wee Wee Hours" 1954; "Roll Over Beethoven, 1956" ; "Rock and Roll Music,1957" and "John B. Goode, 1958") could as accurately be said to deserve the credit for that innovation. In James Brown's I Feel Good: A Memoir of a Life of Soul, Brown recounts that when he first watched Elvis Presley in performance, Presley imitated him so closely that Brown commented, "That's me up there."
Also around this time, the black performing artists Wynonie Harris ("Bloodshot Eyes"1951), The Orioles ("Crying in the Chapel" 1953), Ray Charles ("I'm Movin' On," 1959), Bobby Hebb ("Night Train to Memphis" 1960) and Solomon Burke ("Just Out of Reach" 1961) were creating some of the many other "soul" hits by black performers which also fused country western and rock n roll.
Moreover, to claim that country western music is white music is to ignore black country western artists, who have been disappeared from American musical history by chauvinistic critics. Some of these black musicians were recorded in the 1920s to 1940s, often as members of integrated stringbands, their music mixing traditional ballads and fiddle tunes with blues and ragtime.
Other black country music musicians were mainly soloists, like the legendary twelve string guitarist Huddie William "Lead Belly" Ledbetter (1888-1949) whose concerts and Library of Congress recordings of folk classics such as "Midnight Special," "Goodnight Irene," and "Rock Island Line" in the 1930s and 1940s, which, when re-recorded by many white folk and country singers fueled an American folk music revival in the 1950s and 1960s; and DeFord Bailey (1899-1982), the master harmonica stylist who was the first star of the Grand Ole Opry, the premier country western showcase located in Nashville, Tennessee. Bailey appeared as a regular Grand Ole Opry act for fifteen years, between 1926 and 1941. Since its beginning in 1925 as the radio station WSM (after the logo of its sponsor, National Life and Accident Insurance Company: "We Shield Millions"), the Grand Ole Opry's radio show and performance space has been home to country western music's top performers. As the legend goes, even Grand Old Opry's name was inspired by a DeFord Bailey performance in 1927, when the announcer, George Hay, commented, "For the past hour we have been listening to music taken largely from the Grand Opera, but from now on we will present the Grand Ole Opry." The Grand Ole Opry has made billions; DeFord Bailey died penniless. Finally, after years of debate, Bailey was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005.
White rock 'n' roll musicians--like Elvis Presley, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones--and jazz musicians like Bob Brookmeyer, admit to their indebtedness to African American mentors. It's the critics who somehow claim that these white musicians have somehow transcended the efforts of those who inspired them. These critics not only insist that white males be at the center of their own narrative, but also the American narratives of everyone else.
17th August 2007 10:32 AM
Martha
quote:MidnightRambler wrote:
Elvis' impact and respect is lost amidst all the commericial, advertising, elvis-impresonators, hype and hysteria. It's hard for anybody to eliminate all that and look at the music and the idea behind it all.
Elvis is not labeled the King because of those crappy movies he made, or the fact that he played a lot of Vegas dates or that he loved burgers and gained 100 pounds when he died. The jungle that is the Elvis-World is so hard to sift through....but the music he made between '56 and '58 laid down the concrete to the road of rock and roll.
His voice dripped of originality, energy and fierceness. He translated the sounds of music into something we could see and feel. We'd see it as his hips moved or his arms waved like a windmill We'd feel it when he'd sing a song. A package deal that no one else offered.
People knock the title "King" off of Elvis because he never wrote a song, or played the guitar as prominently as others. Funny, for a guy who never wrote a lyric or played one guitar solo and STILL changed the world of music--pretty damn impressive.
To acknowledge Elvis' impact is one thing...but to understand and KNOW the impact is another. Why would every big icon from Lennon, McCartney, Mick, Keith, Dylan, Bruce Springsteen hand over all credit to Elvis for igniting their fires? Investigate. Wonder. How did this one guy inspire 6 legends?
To understand it all...you have to go deeper than listening to "Hound Dog." Unfortunately that and many other songs have become as played out as "Happy Birthday" or "Jingle Bells." Put yourself back in the 50's when there was absolutely nothing on the radio that sounded even close to this. A time when there was no rock and roll. It's easy now to dismiss Elvis because rock and roll is here and we've had it ever since.
It's true...before anyone did anything...Elvis did everything.
I love the way you write! Great post!
xxoo,
Martha
17th August 2007 10:38 AM
Kilroy
Elvis Lives In The Hearts Of every True Southerner, and apparently alot of "Rocks Off" People.
Thank you and Good Night
[Edited by Kilroy]
17th August 2007 11:00 AM
Chuck
From Blanks' article above:
"White rock 'n' roll musicians--like Elvis Presley, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones--and jazz musicians like Bob Brookmeyer, admit to their indebtedness to African American mentors. It's the critics who somehow claim that these white musicians have somehow transcended the efforts of those who inspired them."
From Midnight Rambler's post:
"It's true...before anyone did anything...Elvis did everything."
lol.
17th August 2007 11:02 AM
Chuck
quote:Kilroy wrote:
Elvis Lives In The Hearts Of every True Southerner, and apparently alot of "Rocks Off" People.
Thank you and Good Night
[Edited by Kilroy]
True Southerner---code for southern-born, reactionary whites.
17th August 2007 11:12 AM
Jumacfly
Joey and I actually think that the real "King" is Corgi
17th August 2007 11:14 AM
Martha
Dentist buys Elvis Presley's crown
1 hour, 55 minutes ago
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) — A dentist has purchased an unusual bit of Elvis memorabilia — a porcelain crown that covered a gap in the King's teeth and the plaster mold used to make it.
"He had nice teeth," said Dr. Jim McCarthy, 58. "From a dentist's point of view, I find it interesting."
McCarthy received the crown this week from the son of the dentist who made it. The crown came with affidavits from the dentist's family and a signed letter from Elvis' manager, Joe Esposito.
Lewis Weiss, 59, said Elvis Presley lived next door to his grandmother in Memphis, Tenn. His father, Henry Weiss was the Presley family dentist.
"My dad took care of Elvis and his family before he had a record out," Weiss said in a telephone interview. "We used to play in the yard with Elvis. He used to sing to us."
His father kept a mold and spare crown in case Elvis needed one in an emergency. That happened in February 1971, when Elvis cracked his crown on a microphone while performing in Las Vegas at the International Hotel, now the Hilton.
That was before overnight delivery, so Weiss, then 23, volunteered to fly to Las Vegas with the tooth. Elvis invited him to stay and gave him a front row seat to a concert.
"My elbow was on the stage," Weiss remembered. "That night we got to party in his room."
After Elvis took the spare crown, Weiss' father made another.
Elvis died 30 years ago Thursday at age 42. Dentist Henry Weiss died in 1990.
McCarthy, a colonel with the Wisconsin National Guard, cut a deal to buy the mold and crown from Lewis Weiss while serving his second tour in Iraq. His son Patrick is a big Elvis fan and will inherit them, he said.
McCarthy wouldn't say how much he paid for the artifacts.
A forensics dentist, he said it didn't take long to authenticate them.
"If you look at the pictures of Elvis, you can see those teeth line up," McCarthy said.
His examination revealed something else as well: "I tend to think maybe he did some grinding."
17th August 2007 11:51 PM
robpop
Mojo Nixon said Elvis is still the king.
17th August 2007 11:56 PM
mojoman
quote:robpop wrote:
Mojo Nixon said Elvis is still the king.
Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant With My Two-Headed Love Child
17th August 2007 11:57 PM
robpop
quote:mojoman wrote:
Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant With My Two-Headed Love Child
YES!!!
18th August 2007 02:41 AM
Kilroy
quote:Chuck wrote:
True Southerner---code for southern-born, reactionary whites.
You know you can be non white and be Southern, thats code for Black.
18th August 2007 11:54 AM
Chuck
quote:Kilroy wrote:
You know you can be non white and be Southern, thats code for Black.
Yes, but are they 'true' southerners?
What makes a southerner 'true'? Please do tell.
18th August 2007 12:47 PM
Kilroy
quote:Chuck wrote:
Yes, but are they 'true' southerners?
What makes a southerner 'true'? Please do tell.
If you were one you would not have to ask, now would you?
I agree with your statememt about the rockers taking bit and pieces from one another to form this thing Rock N Roll. Little Richard, a southerner, said it best. The Black,The White, The Brown,The Green and The Yellow are Gods Bonquet. The Childrens of Love. Be good I love ya. Out. Do you Understand the term Lost Cause?
[Edited by Kilroy]
18th August 2007 02:28 PM
Chuck
quote:Kilroy wrote:
If you were one you would not have to ask, now would you?
And if you were one, you would be able to define it easily, now wouldn't you?
What is a 'true' southerner?
18th August 2007 03:15 PM
steel driving hammer
As a movie star, he sucks.
As a song writer, he sucks.
He's the biggest over rated piece of lard I've ever seen in my sweet short life.
18th August 2007 11:21 PM
Kilroy
quote:Chuck wrote:
And if you were one, you would be able to define it easily, now wouldn't you?
What is a 'true' southerner?
you answered your own ?
[Edited by Kilroy]
18th August 2007 11:27 PM
Kilroy
quote:Chuck wrote:
And if you were one, you would be able to define it easily, now wouldn't you?
What is a 'true' southerner?
No not to you apparently. There is is no easy defininition. I'm sorry for you.
19th August 2007 07:11 AM
Ten Thousand Motels
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Libre: Elvis Presley’s legacy
By Mel Libre
Sun Star
Seriously Now
AUGUST is the occasion for fans of Elvis Presley to remember the “King of Rock n’ Roll.” I must confess I am not much of an Elvis fan but I’ve done Elvis impersonations in the past.
Elvis died of heart failure caused by a long period of misuse of drugs on Aug. 16, 1977 at the age of 42. At the time of his sudden death, he was only a shadow of the star that he was in his early years.
Listening to the early works of Elvis is fascinating with the range of his voice displayed in the rock ‘n roll anthems that made him famous. But hearing his recordings in the late ‘60s and in the ‘70s, one gets the impression he was no longer the pioneering idol that he was. He had become as standard as Frank Sinatra.
If there was something original with Elvis, it was his body movements while he performed. As far as music is concerned, he merely imitated genuine rock n’ roll pioneers like Chuck Berry and Fats Domino. Even his image was borrowed from James Dean, who died young and made a cult following with the movie, “A Rebel Without a Cause.”
Lacking the ability to create his own songs, Elvis was at the mercy of composers and his manager. He lost whatever respectability that was left in him as an artist when he became an entertainer in Las Vegas.
His legacy? Nobody really remembers anything much about his back-up band because its members played note for note without room for improvisation.
While The Beatles and Bob Dylan acknowledge Elvis for opening their eyes to the new sound that he popularized, it is a fact that the Fab Four and Dylan created music that had more impact on later generations.
Lisa Marie, Elvis’ only daughter, attempted to pursue a music career, but the attempt is best forgotten. Perhaps, what can be counted as her biggest achievement was her having married the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, then followed that up by snagging Elvis fanatic and actor Nicolas Cage as her husband after divorcing Jackson. She has since also divorced Cage.
What is astounding is that Elvis’ business empire thrives until today with earnings of $50 million annually. How this happened is not rocket science but simply marketing acumen.
The business handlers of Elvis’ estate knew the value of the Elvis brand. They turned his home, Graceland, into a shrine and marked his death anniversary like it was Christmas with as many Elvis souvenir items available for sale. If I read it right, even Elvis impersonators now pay a fee to the estate.
The truth about Elvis is that he was packaged well at the start of his career.
But unlike Michael Jackson and Madonna who have mastered the art of reinventing themselves, Elvis and his management chose to take the more profitable option sans artistry.
While Elvis is a basic material in pop music history, he may also be good subject in the study of business as well as estate management.
19th August 2007 09:59 AM
Gazza
quote:steel driving hammer wrote:
As a movie star, he sucks.
As a song writer, he sucks.
He's the biggest over rated piece of lard I've ever seen in my sweet short life.
Thats a bit like saying Mick Jagger is overrated as a performer because he's a crap actor and a very ordinary guitarist.
Seriously, Tony - just say no. It's for your own good.
19th August 2007 11:24 AM
Chuck
quote:Kilroy wrote:
No not to you apparently. There is is no easy defininition. I'm sorry for you.
You used the expression 'true southerner'; yet, when politely asked to explain what that means, you refuse to do so. I can only conclude that you know not of what you speak, and that you are not a 'true southerner', whatever that may be.
Do you often use words or expressions that you cannot define?
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